Beta testing Woodstock's Ideal Steel Hybrid

[weatherguy]

What is the lowest temp the IS will cruise at?

Other buyer questions:
- clearance requirements
- blower needed?

I think clearance requirements will be set once its tested, it's going in next month. No blower option, I guess that's their MO with their stoves.

 

[deathandtaxes]

Do either of y'all have the ash pan? If so thoughts on it? Sorry if this has been adressed already. Looking forward to the upgrade.

I have the ash pan. Works well. My other stove has one also, so I can't imagine not having one. Let me know if you have any questions. I was going to attach some pictures but it doesn't appear that simple to do here. I have posted some pics on another forum that asked that exact question - Ideal Steel options - ash pan, yes or no?? I assume I an not allowed to link to other sites?

Excuse my ignorance on the pics. I figured it out, but now can't find the pics....

 

[deathandtaxes]

ok. here they are. I had actually slid the cover on the pan while it was still in the stove. I just slid it off again for the pic.

 

[Papa-Yankee-Romeo-Oscar]

In the second picture it looks like there's a pretty big gap at the sides of the pan. Does the pan actually fill the space down there? It seems you would have to scoop out the ashes that don't make it in the pan.

 

[deathandtaxes]

In the second picture it looks like there's a pretty big gap at the sides of the pan. Does the pan actually fill the space down there? It seems you would have to scoop out the ashes that don't make it in the pan.

You are correct, there is room at the sides, but the pan is wider than the grate so everything falls in the pan. It is actually quite a bit longer than the grate too, so that is nice, if you wait too long to empty it, you have a little more room to push the pile around to. This is the beta, not sure if any changes are planned.

 

[begreen]

If one chooses to get the stove without the ashpan how high is the front lip into the firebox?

 

[deathandtaxes]

If one chooses to get the stove without the ashpan how high is the front lip into the firebox?

I would have to measure. Maybe one of the other guys knows off the top of their head, but it's pretty high, so could hold quite a bit of ash before cleaning it out. Wild guess would be a few inches.

 

[begreen]

Excellent. I am not a fan of ashpans. If the stove burns well, with the right wood it sounds like ash cleaning would be just a few times a season.

 

[mellow]

I wish I could get away with only a few times a year, my ash pile is a small mountain this year.

 

[Elbinwyp]

deathandtaxes,
Your ash lip is looking pretty ashy. How has the outside of the stove held up? Does it collect dust? Does that ash lip get beat up with front loading? Would you recommend a dark color or light (like BrianK's)?

 

[koodjack]

Yesterday morning our Progress Hybrid went cold and was moved into a spare room to make way for a test version of the new Woodstock Ideal Steel Hybrid stove. My wife, of all people, signed us up as beta testers. We burn about 8 cord of wood each year, using wood as our primary heat source. In late January of 2012, thanks to this forum's suggestions, we lit up the Progress Hybrid (https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/progress-hybrid-install-pics.82465/). With no connections to anyone at Woodstock, other than being a customer, we feel pretty lucky to be a beta tester of this new stove (it should be a fun way to pass the winter evenings).

The PH is a good stove for us, in our big, drafty farm house (https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/wood-consumption-in-my-ph.95273/#post-1257855). We have a 6" liner, insulated, in an interior chimney, 32' tall. Quite the draft the past few days (7 degrees out right now). As I noted, we burn about 8 cord {edit... oops, hit the post button too soon. I'll follow up with some pic's.)

Maybe it's just me, but I am not impress with the looks, the ph is better looking.

 

[begreen]

I wish I could get away with only a few times a year, my ash pile is a small mountain this year.

Some wood is very ashy. In the beginning of the season we were burning soft maple and got a lot of ash. Then we switched to doug fir and locust in December and the ash production went way down.

 

[deathandtaxes]

deathandtaxes,
Your ash lip is looking pretty ashy. How has the outside of the stove held up? Does it collect dust? Does that ash lip get beat up with front loading? Would you recommend a dark color or light (like BrianK's)?

Yeah, sorry, it's clean today but the stove and the hearth are a mess in those pics.
but, I forget where I mentioned this, I am not a fan of the andiron design. Because they fold forward as one unit, it is a one inch wide plate that folds forward. Because I fill the stove up, ash builds up on that plate and dumps right on the lip when I put them down. I can remove them (very easily) but I want to have them to keep the wood off the glass. I could also try to clean the plate off every time with a shovel, but I am too lazy for that. Or I could not fold them down and reach around them during loading, but I don't like that option either. So, now the ash winds up on the lip.

The outside has held up fine. It's only been a couple of months, but no issues with that at all.

Dust - does a big black metal object collect dust? Well, yeah, but I vacuum it off when I clean up the hearth and lip. My other stove does the same. I can't imagine a stove that wouldn't.

Ash lip doesn't get beat up. It is pretty low compared the opening so I never noticed it getting banged around, but I don't bang the stove around during loading anyway.

Dark or light. Well, my wife hates colored stoves, so it's not a discussion in my house. You would have to ask Briank about his lighter color and what he thinks. Black is black, pretty easy to keep clean. Vacuum and a quick wipe if needed.

 

[deathandtaxes]

Maybe it's just me, but I am not impress with the looks, the ph is better looking.

You are not alone. Obviously it's a taste thing. Keep in mind that it is a steel stove. It's not a stone or cast iron, so it's competition are other steel boxes. In that group, I think it wins, in my opinion. But if you prefer stone, obviously this is not that. Personally, both my wife and I prefer cast iron, so the IS does not win the looks competition in my house either.

 

[Lee4him]

@deathandtaxes maybe I missed it but I'm curious as to the square footage you were heating. 2K, 2.5K 3K etc...

 

[deathandtaxes]

From a post I had on my Isle Royale:
Colonial, post and beam, forced hot air propane, no heat on the second floor (never noticeable as the ceiling on the first floor is the floor on the second, literally same boards), main part of home is around 2000 sq ft. Then there is an addition of around 1500 off to the side. The addition is heated with 2 register rinnai propane heaters.

Although the wood stove heat certainly helps the addition, I do not depend on it to do so.

 

[Lee4him]

Ok, thanks. Appreciate the input.